Freelancing has never been this popular as it is now.
As the popularity of freelancing skyrockets, more and more people are opting for this career path. And it leads to only one conclusion; Fierce Competition.
And if you’re wondering how to become a freelancer with no experience then you’ve to be very calculative and cautious from the 1st day.
Rather than circling around the unknown you’ve to take on some expert advice and get yourself a distinct advantage over others.
Here I’ve listed some key steps that you need to follow to master your success in freelancing career as a beginner in 2024.
How to get hired as a freelancer online without experience?
Here is the curated list of steps that are most effective at this time for your success.
1. Identify your existing transferable skills
The very first thing you do is calmly find out where you’re good at. It has to be something that you can do better (eg. writing, coding, editing, social media, etc.).
Recap those topics/areas and select a niche that relates to your particular skill set. You can take some online courses, spend a few hours getting up to date with industry trends and demands.
Pro tip: Spend your most time here when starting off. Make sure to cross check if the corresponding job will give you enough cash that makes it worthwhile.
2. Prioritize experience over earnings
Although you may need to charge, monitor your earnings, and strive to achieve your financial goals, try to make expertise your number 1 priority.
Focus more on how to improve your skills and deliver better results to the clients. This will ease your way to getting more clients and building up a robust portfolio.
Pro tip: Create a learning roadmap, connect or follow a successful freelancer of your niche & list down his skills and expertise. And achieve those.
3. Create a portfolio website
By building a website, potential and existing clients can reach out to your site for more information about you (portfolio, contact, years in the industry, etc.).
Some clients believe that freelancers with websites are the real deal. So, if you get a website, your chances of being hired will increase.
Pro tip: Try creating a website by yourself with WordPress (free), Wix, Squarespace, etc. You can find hundreds of tutorials online on how to create a portfolio website.
Just make sure it looks great & well organized.
4. Explore freelancing platforms
I know many people say many things about landing their 1st job but to me there is no better alternative to freelancing platforms. Why?
It gives you the unique experience to look into the real market and the top demanding skills.
You can try popular platforms like Upwork, Fiver, Freelancer, etc. popular freelancing platforms for beginners.
Look for available jobs there or good performing gigs, then filter out the most suitable ones and hit apply.
Pro tip: Be noted that your first target is to get 5 star reviews. Don’t be bothered with the payments. It’ll follow along.
Start small & build a reputation.
5. Develop a client-winning proposal
Once you get your hands on the work you’ll soon realize you’ve to write a compelling proposal that will land you the job. Otherwise there is no luck,
Carefully craft clear, concise proposals outlining your value and service in relation with the job details.
Pro tip: Try out different angles and make the proposal convincing. Judge your each and every proposal distinctively. Learn, iterate and progress.
6. Connect with the community
There are thousands of freelancers in the industry, ranging from beginners like you to professionals. Connect with freelancers in line with your niche/area of specification.
That way, you can learn more from them and do better with your clients.
Pro tip: Ask to help a fellow freelancer for very little price or no price. This is a very good way to start off and build a good portfolio.
7. Try cold emailing & calling
This is perhaps the harder pathway but is seemingly very beneficial to earn big money. In this process, you find potential people who might require your service. List them down and find their contact person and contact details.
Then, reach them out through your cold email campaigns pointing out how you can help them to overcome their problems.
You can try Apolo for lead finding, instantly for cold email campaigns.
Pro tip: This is a long hard process but this way you can find out people who don’t go to online market palaces. If you’re lucky you can win big clients with no competition.
But for that you’ve to have a decent level of expertise and knowledge to convince your client & get the job done.
5. Always be online/active
Opportunities never come knocking you beforehand.
When you bid or apply for a job online, try your best to stay online and active for at least 14 hours. Clients believe that active freelancers are diligent.
So, by staying active on the site, you can be hired. You can also use time-tracking apps by following this guide.
Pro tip: Try using different mobile apps to stay connected all the time and make their best usage.
6. Research, explore, learn and think out of the box
In your area of specification, keep exploring, researching, and making the most of your experience in the industry.
The more you learn, the more quality results you provide. By doing so, you can get rehired over and over again.